When I was in the constant throws of attacks and desperate for the tiniest bit of hope, the Word of God was my lifeline. I read my Bible out of desperation. I would search the Word and without fail, I would find exactly what I needed even though I didn’t know what I needed to bring hope.

I learned to trust in God’s promises and one was from Romans 5:3-6: “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us…” Romans 5:3-6

It was one of those days when God knew Teresa needed a bit more loving care. And because Christ is the best friend one could ever ask for, he gave me this dream. The scenes represented what I had recently read in scripture and illustrates how a Christian can remain strong in the midst of a battle.

Scene one:

There was a group of people chasing after me. They were dressed in black, carrying guns, knives, and swords. They began to shoot and throw knives my way. I ran. The bystanders realized they may not be safe and began running alongside me. No matter how fast we ran, there was no way humanly possible we could dodge them. But it was like a bad movie, no matter how many times they tried to hit us, they missed. We ran into a building and as we turned a corner I yelled, “this way.” They couldn’t catch us.

Scene two:

Those who had been chasing me were actors. In the dream, I thought I had recently seen Rush Hour 2 and one of the men from the movie was wearing black. An Asian actress was wearing the same black and red outfit she wore in the movie. (I don’t know if they were the real actors/actresses in this movie and if their outfits were the same colors). Her footsteps approached directly from behind and when I spun around, we stood face-to-face. She took out her sword and put it between my eyes.

With confidence, I shouted, “Jesus!”

I looked at her and said, “you can’t harm me! I am God’s.”

With courage and assurance who was by my side, once again I shouted the name, “Jesus!”  

I gripped my sword and swung it upwards to shield off her attack. Before she could follow through on her strike, she looked down where I had sliced off her sword, leaving only the handle. She was in utter disbelief because the sword was unbreakable. I said, “I am God’s!”

I had absolute confidence nobody could harm me.  End dream.

(Note: I have never seen this movie in full nor had I seen clips of it in days or months leading up to this dream.)

Scene one interpretation:

• Demonic forces:

  • Gang: The enemy was out to get me and this scene depicts that my situation wasn’t going to change any time soon. “When evil people come to devour me when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.” Psalm 27:2

  • Weapons: Satan’s weapons are useless against God’s children (they never touched us). “The Lord thundered from heaven. The Most High made his voice heard. He shot arrows and scattered them.” 2 Samuel 22:14-15 GW

  • Running: Don’t dwell on the attacks of the enemy (the problem). Fleeing is one of our defense strategies against the attacks of the enemy. “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.” 2 Timothy 2:22 James 4:7

• Bystanders: They were caught unaware and weren’t interested in helping. Be wise enough to follow godly leaders. “Dear friend, take my advice; it will add years to your life. I’m writing out clear directions to Wisdom Way,  I’m drawing a map to Righteous Road. I don’t want you ending up in blind alleys, or wasting time making wrong turns. Hold tight to good advice; don’t relax your grip. Guard it well—your life is at stake! Don’t take Wicked Bypass; don’t so much as set foot on that road. Stay clear of it; give it a wide berth. Make a detour and be on your way.” Proverbs 4:14-15 MSG

• Actors: Satan masquerades and disguises himself as though he’s on your side and there to defend you. 2 Corinthians 11:14 Spiritual warfare is to be taken seriously. Don’t be deceived by false teachers and imitators of Truth.

  • If you want to defeat the attacks of the enemy, (i.e., temptations from worry, walking in confusion, constant uncertainty) take God at his Word. We’re not in an action movie. Spiritual warfare is real.

  • Black and red clothing: In this dream, black is symbolic of darkness, death, and sin and red represent sin and death. (“...your sins are like scarlet...” Isaiah 1:18).

  • The actress slipped in from behind: Discern the whereabouts of the enemy so you aren’t “stabbed in the back.” “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.” I Peter 5:8

• Face-to-face with the enemy:

  • Face the enemy with confidence. When you walk in faith, believing that God is on your side, you don’t have to cower from the attacks of the enemy. “Since the children are made of flesh and blood, it’s logical that the Savior took on flesh and blood in order to rescue them by his death. By embracing death, taking it into himself, he destroyed the Devil’s hold on death and freed all.” Hebrews 2:14-15

  • Remaining on the offense shifts your focus from the problem and onto God. It cripples the enemies power over you. Joshua said, “Be strong and of good courage.” “Be” is to exist, to live it. Be positive. Be hopeful. The Lord will give you victory over all of your enemies. Joshua 10

• The NAME: The Name of Jesus is our most powerful weapon. God has given us power and authority and that authority comes by literally using His Name. “Jesus!” “When the seventy-two disciples returned, they joyfully reported to him, “Lord, even the demons obey us when we use your name!” Luke 10:17

  • If you want strength, power, and authority to defeat the devil and walk in peace no matter what situations you are facing, know the Name, the Person.

• Sword: The Sword is the Word of God. Like the dream depicts, we are an unstoppable warrior in God’s army when we wield our spiritual weapon of warfare. “...and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Ephesians 6:17.

  • When life gets tough, break the despair the enemy is holding over you by declaring the Word like Jesus did: “But Jesus said, ‘it is written’... Then the devil went away from Jesus. Angels came and cared for Him.” Matthew 4:10-11

  • “God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.” Ephesians 6:10-12 MSG

God encouraged me in the night with this dream These scenes provided a strategy on how to obtain courage and strength to hold on and how to experience victory in the fight. Each seen conveyed a personal message of encouragement from God and can be summarized as follows:

“It feels like the enemy is right behind you and that he’s constantly shooting arrows at you. Sometimes it feels like all you are doing is running and getting nowhere, but no matter what he throws your way, I’m with you. His weapons can’t harm you. With me, you are faster and stronger. Remain focused on Truth. Pay attention to who you are listening to. Take my advice seriously if you want to be victorious. Use my Name and the power and authority I have given you. There are days you feel like you’re staring the devil in the face, but in my Name, Jesus Name, you are victorious. Don’t let go of my Word. My Word is your weapon, and my Word is my Name, which takes down all strongholds of the enemy. No weapon formed against you shall prosper. Be strong in the Lord. I am with you.”

I would have preferred a dream where God said your trials are about to end, but that was not my path at that time. God has never failed me.

Look for your victories. When you have days you are “running around a corner,” to get away from the enemy, look for a glimmer of light in the darkness, look for those victories. Rejoice in them and that’s where you’ll discover peace and how you will gain strength and courage to defeat the enemy. Every victory will give you the endurance to fight!

Keep a tight grip on your Sword! Be courageous. Be strong. Be IN Jesus.